


Life Changes

by webeta123



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: EWE, Harry means well, M/M, Severus is just annoyed in general, Sirius isn't that good about TMI stuff, Some BDSM, Some PTSD symptoms, post-war AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:30:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3438779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webeta123/pseuds/webeta123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry knows that Sirius would never let himself be seriously hurt. </p>
<p>But seeing someone get hit across the face isn't a good sign... right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Changes

**Author's Note:**

> This story just kind of popped into my head. There might be a sequel, I haven't decided yet, but if the interest is strong enough... maybe.

Harry could hardly believe how much life had changed after the war.

Things were finally seeming to look up without any issue of You-Know-Who or some crazed Death Eater trying to kill him. All of the true Death Eaters, or the ones who were over twenty-one, were in Azkaban where they belonged. He was getting started on his Auror training after a year of finishing his NEWT work at Hogwarts with Ron at his side, though Ron was already ahead of him. He joked that Ron would be his superior by the time he got out of training, something that both of them knew would work really well. He was even making friends with Slytherins, like Snape even though that had taken a lot of condoling and what was considered by Snape to be “idiotic meetings that have nothing to do with anything that needs to be discussed”. He wouldn’t say that he and Snape were friends at any rate, but they were getting there. He had even explained to Harry the truth about his and his mother’s relationship and how while he cared about her deeply, there had never been any romantic inclination unlike what Harry had thought when he first saw those memories. (Snape had also demanded those back since he hadn’t known that Draco would show up mere moments after they had left to force antivenom down his throat to draw the poison out and save his godfather’s life).

But the best thing of all, in Harry’s opinion, was the fact that his godfather was alive. After the war, he found out that Sirius had in fact been “tossed back” from the Veil and had been in a coma for the past two years. During those two years, a kind Healer had refused to let the Ministry take him back to Azkaban and had scoured through his memories until she saw the truth. According to witnesses, it was one of the most spectacular displays of anger they had ever seen from the young mediwitch who was usually very calm and collected. Once the war was over, Sirius had been cleared of all charges and the press had gone wild. The Ministry had issued an official apology to Sirius through the press and were helping him recover (whether they liked it or not). Sirius was now happily working at a jewelry shop of all places, using his magic to create pendants of all shapes and sizes, many of them with magical properties like security, charisma, and other such things. He had explained to Harry that now that he could use his magic legally again, “I might as well use it for something good, eh?”

Harry knew that Sirius was good at his job, so he liked to come see him whenever he had the chance, if only so that he could make up for the years that he hadn’t known him. Sirius was almost always happy to see him, even if he had a customer or was working on a new project or if Harry was feeling paranoid or needed someone to talk to about training. He loved that the most about his godfather, the fact he was always willing to listen. 

That particular day, Harry had just gotten out of training and decided that he would walk around Diagon Alley. Perhaps he’d stop by to see Sirius or just enjoy the cool autumn day. He watched the people hurry by with their purchases, moving lithely in between them. Even as a war hero, he knew how to be unseen. His eye was caught however by a figure moving stealthily through the crowd, a heavy cloak with the hood pulled up making Harry’s heart race.

Suddenly pictures of hooded figures walking among the civilians, causing chaos with one simple spell. He looked around wildly, the very idea of war breaking out again or someone getting hurt while he was around causing him to shake slightly. He didn’t see any other hooded figures, so he figured it had to be a lone wolf looking for a bit of fame. He wouldn’t let that happen.

He followed the figure carefully, sticking to the shadows and moving through groups to make sure that the figure didn’t see him. They ducked into the alley beside Sirius’s shop, making the idea of this being an attack all the more potent. He couldn’t lose his godfather again!

He drew the Invisibility Cloak around him as he drew into the alley, watching as the hooded figure stood silently just inside the shadows. It made it much harder for Harry to see anything, but he wasn’t afraid. He could take this person easily and get backup from the Auror department if things got rough. Another figure emerged from the shadows, also in a heavy cloak, making Harry’s fear triple. The first figure was pushed against the closest wall and the other figure drew close, their hoods overlapping. Harry’s mind drew up pictures of close correspondence so that no one could hear or see what they were saying as they plotted innocent people’s lives being lost. He shook slightly, sure that his haggard breath could be heard even underneath the cloak. One of the figures moved, turning them so that the one that first entered was now the one pinning the other. In this movement, the figure’s hood fell and revealed the face of his godfather.

Harry’s heart finally slowed when he realized the truth. Sirius would never hurt anyone in that way, so this had to just be some kind of meeting. Harry had the decency to blush when he realized exactly what was happening, him shaking his head with the realization. This wasn’t two people plotting the demise of innocent people, it was two people just snogging. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that Sirius had to get lonely sometimes and maybe whoever this was could be good for him. The hooded figure’s hand went up to tug at Sirius’s pierced ear, where the soft emerald colour of the jewel at the end of the hoop caught the dim light. Sirius hummed as he practically melted against the wall, finally pulling away enough to give a small smile to the hooded figure. Harry had to strain to hear what he was saying,

“We still on for tonight?”

“Of course.” Harry’s eyes blew wide when he recognized the others voice even as the hood was pushed back and Severus’s face came into view. “It would hardly be fair to deny myself.” Severus told him. Harry had a feeling he knew what they were talking about, but he was still trying to process the fact that apparently Severus and Sirius were even together. Last he heard, they had been amicable, no longer yelling at each other with every breath they mutually had. Certainly not this close though. Sirius chuckled.

“Oh yes, because you would be denied of the person who has your ring in his ear.” Severus nodded his head to the side in agreement as Sirius’s hand went to Severus’s right shoulder, “It’d be just like if you denied me even though you have my mark on your shoulder.” Severus’s low chuckle could be heard through the alley, still shaking his head.

“You’ve been good then?” Harry was mildly confused by this question, unsure of how that could even be an issue for the two of them.

“You’ll just have to wait and find out.” Sirius said with a small smirk, leaning his shoulders against the wall behind him and letting his hips move forward. Harry had to admit that Sirius had a certain sexual prowess that only came with age and experience. Severus huffed and shook his head as he moved back.

“Well, take this as a taste of what’s to come.” Severus reared back and, to Harry’s horror, struck Sirius across the face with enough strength that Sirius went to the side and had to brace himself on the wall to keep from falling over. As though he had not just assaulted someone, Severus readjusted the hood so that it covered his face and walked out of the alley, barely passing Harry who was standing in shock and horror. What had his godfather gotten himself into?

~

Harry paced up and down the length of his flat, trying to rationalize what he had seen. Sirius wouldn’t allow himself to just be abused like that, right? He knew the signs, knew the signals, he would have gotten out before it got too bad. _But those who are abused don’t often know they’re being abused until it’s too late._ A traitorous voice in his ear whispered, reminding him of the training they had gotten just a few weeks prior.

That didn’t mean that Sirius was being abused, did it? But if he was being abused, which seemed to be more of a possibility than ever before, then he wouldn’t know until it got too bad or he was killed in a fit of rage. He had seen Severus’s anger, he knew what he was capable of! Harry pushed a strand of hair out of his face in horror, realizing that there wasn’t anything left to do but to try and convince Sirius to save himself.

He decided to go talk to him at the shop, try and get him to see reason. He wouldn’t have to mention what he had seen in the alley, just ask a few good questions and Sirius would come to his own conclusions. And if that didn’t work, he’d save Sirius himself.

~

The bell on top of the door rang cheerfully as Harry walked into the shop, the smell of incense permeating the main floor. The room was filled with shelves of different kinds of pendants, all of them gleaming in the displays from the lights that highlighted the many colours. The walls were painted white, but the reflections of the jewels made the room seem as though it were straight out of a rainbow. There weren’t a lot of people in the store at the moment, making this conversation so much easier on Harry.

Sirius came walking out with a gemstone in his hand, his dress not even suggesting what Harry had seen almost two hours before. He wore a simple button-down shirt with a black vest, the back vibrant red. His black dress pants were carefully cut to highlight his frame and his black work boots glinted in the light. “Harry! Look at this fluorite ball. It’ll make a great security gem for one of my pieces.” Sirius said excitedly, showing Harry the ball with a grin on his face. Harry studied Sirius’s face for any sign of pain but saw only excitement at what was being shown.

“It’s beautiful.” Harry commented, noting the dark blues and light greens in the gemstone. “Do you mind if we talk?” He asked carefully, trying to make sure that he stayed with the plan. Sirius had to realize that Snape was no good for him and that it was not right how he was being treated. Sirius gave him a small smile.

“Sure, Prongslette. Mind if we talk while I work? I’ve got to get this custom order finished by the end of today.” Sirius explained as he walked towards the curtained area where his main workshop was. Harry followed behind Sirius as the man put the gemstone on one of the tables that went around the room, staying along the sides of the walls before rotating inward, more tables making it easier for Sirius to have different projects going. Almost every table had some gemstone on it, some of them already mounted and others of them still stemmed in magic from spells prior set. Sirius got one of the amethysts that were sitting on one of the tables in the center of the room and pulled out his wand, casting soft spells and humming at the reaction, “So, what’s up?” Sirius asked, turning the amethyst over and casting another spell.

“Well, we were talking about the different kinds of relationships that people can have during Auror training and how you’re supposed to respond to them.” Harry told him, watching his reaction as he went to sit on one of the stools. Sirius glanced up at him with a curious look, not at all perturbed.

“Oh? How it could affect people’s judgments I’m guessing.” Sirius mused, turning over the amethyst and casting a charm into it, a small swirl showing in the amethyst from the magic. “Some people are ridiculously loyal to those who could hurt them.” Sirius said calmly, though Harry’s head jerked up.

“Yes! Just like that. About how abuse victims don’t realize they’re being abused until they reach a certain point or someone else points it out.” Harry lead on, hoping that Sirius would see the parallels. Sirius cast another charm and another swirl broke out from the original mark in the amethyst.

“Mmhmm. How are your meetings with your therapist, by the way?” Harry made a small face, knowing that he should have seen that coming. After the war, Harry had told Sirius and a select others about his life at the Dursleys, to the extent that all of them were horrified and demanded that he go see a therapist. Harry hadn’t realized exactly how badly he had been treated at the Dursleys until he had gone to his therapist and his friends helped him realize the truth.

“They’re going good.” Harry shook his head, this wasn’t what he had come here to talk about. “But yeah, we talked about that and it was pretty interesting.”

“I’m sure it was.” Sirius said with a shrug, still working away as though it didn’t affect him in the slightest. He glanced up at Harry in confusion as he put the amethyst down, “Is there something you want to talk about, kid? You’re acting skittish.”

“Well… I was just wondering. You must get pretty lonely here sometimes whenever you’re having a lag in customers or just in general. Have you… you know, been out lately?” Harry asked, deciding to take a different route. Sirius gave Harry a slightly confused look and his hand went up to his ear where the earring sat.

“Well… yes, actually. I just didn’t tell you about it because I figured you weren’t all that interested.” Sirius told him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh? Are they nice? Pretty?” Harry asked, trying to see what exactly he was working with here. Sirius’s face turned into a small smile, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing or thinking.

“Well, he’s not exactly nice. I mean, he’s a good man underneath it all, but you’ve got to fight to get him to open up about anything that could be on his mind, which can be incredibly frustrating.” Sirius huffed slightly as he rubbed at his head. “But he’s… not conventionally handsome. He won’t be winning any beauty pageants but as you get to know him… he’s not bad. In fact, I’d say he’s good for a man his age.” Sirius told him, “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. And… he treats you well?” Harry asked, knowing that this had to be the moment that Sirius realized that someone slapping you across the face was not being treated well. Sirius gave a secret smile as he looked down to his right.

“For us? Yeah, he treats me pretty well.”

In that moment, Harry was convinced that Sirius was completely brainwashed.

~

Once Harry got back to his flat, he decided on a plan. He knew that Sirius and Snape were meeting that night for whatever Snape had planned for Sirius. Probably some horrid torture that he couldn’t begin to imagine undoubtedly. But he had to be careful about it, he couldn’t let Sirius get hurt or Snape go into some kind of rage because of being caught.

He almost wondered if he should talk to Ron and Hermione about this, but then realized the less people in the operation the better. It would be much easier to do this one-on-one. Harry decided that he would wait until later, making sure that Snape would be there. He just hoped that he wouldn’t be too late.

~

At exactly 8:30, Harry strode to his Floo and threw down the powder, yelling out, “Grimmauld Place.” The sensation of the Floo had not gotten any easier to get used to over the years, but at least he hadn’t tripped on his way over the fireplace. He listened carefully, his wand already out at the ready. He heard a thudding noise followed by a cry, making Harry acutely aware that he might already be too late. He ran up the stairs, the thudding noise and the cries echoing in his head like the yells of curses and the sound of people falling to the floor, never to return again.

He threw open the door, a curse on his lips as he took in the scene. Sirius was tied up intricately, ropes going around his wrists and attaching them to the headboard above him while his legs were spread-eagle and tied to the bedposts at his feet. The skin of his arse was painted vibrant red and the sound of something buzzing filled the room. His eyes were covered with a black mask though his mouth was still open from crying out for help. Snape was standing beside the bed, a black wood paddle in his hand and looking at Harry as though he had completely gone insane.

“Potter? What are you--" Sirius moaned quietly, making noises of confusion. Severus turned to Sirius before looking back at Harry with an obviously conflicted look on his face.

“Sir?” Sirius asked, turning his head towards Severus’s voice. Snape seemed beside himself before he finally decided on what he would do.

“Sirius, Umbridge.” Sirius began squirming softly, still confused like Harry felt at that moment. Severus pulled out his wand and Summoned a book from the bookshelf on the opposite wall of the bed.

“Ugh, Potter, while I take care of Sirius, educate yourself.” He said, flinging the book at Harry as he quickly went to Sirius and began _untying_ the knots on Sirius’s wrists. Harry looked down at the book he had been given and saw in stark white letters _The ABCs of BDSM by Harriet Waters_. Harry’s eyes blew wide as he looked up at Sirius and Severus, the latter taking off the mask and whispering soft words to Sirius to calm him, then back down at the book before he felt his face combust into red. He heard Sirius whisper in a slurred tone once he saw Harry, “Harry? Severus, why is he--"

“Shh, it’s alright. I’m right here. We’ll take care of these in a minute.” Severus told him, his hand wavering over the marks on Sirius’s backside. “I’ve got to get Potter out of here.”

“But why is he,”

“Doesn’t matter.” Severus told him softly. “He’s not supposed to be here and I think he’s starting to realize that.” The latter part of that sentence made it abundantly clear how annoyed Severus was at Harry and at his actions. Harry rubbed at his neck as he hastily made his exit, unsure how he would ever face either of them again.

~

_Dear Harry,_

_I’m sorry you had to see me like that a few nights ago. I was so far in subspace that I didn’t know where I was or who was really there until later and I was back to normal and Severus could explain to me what had happened. I have a feeling I know what happened, which I can't help but find funny. I appreciate the concern, honestly, I do, but the way that Severus and I work is a very odd and very good thing for both of us._

_I’m fine, Prongslette. I'm a grown man._

_Love you (and don’t be a stranger just because you saw an anal egg up me),_

_Sirius (and Severus, but he won’t admit it)_

_P.S. We’ll talk more about this later._

_P.P.S. Severus wants his book back_


End file.
